Malaysia's King Appoints Anwar Ibrahim As Prime Minister: End Of Road Panjang Three Decade Of Mahathir Students

Anwar Ibrahim. (Wikimedia Commons/Firdaus Latif)

JAKARTA - Malaysia's King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah appointed opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim as prime minister on Thursday.

This appointment ends the five-day unprecedented post-election crisis, along with inconclusive results.

In addition, Anwar's appointment ended a three-decade long political journey, from veteran leader Mahathir Mohamad's protege, becoming protest leader, then being detained and undergoing sexuality-related law, becoming the opposition leader and finally, the prime minister.

Earlier, Saturday's election ended with an unprecedented hanging parliament, with none of the two major alliances, led by Anwar and former other prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, able to secure a majority seat in parliament to form a government.

75-year-old Anwar has been repeatedly rejected for the post of prime minister, despite being very close for years.

He was deputy prime minister in the 1990s. In 2018, he won the election together with Mahathir, facing incumbent Najib Razak. Mahathir rose as PM, with a recent agreement to pass the position to Anwar. However, that was not done, with their alliance disbanding after 22 months.

On the sidelines, he spent nearly a decade in prison for sodomy and corruption, in what he said was a politically motivated charge aimed at ending his career.

Election uncertainty threatens to prolong political instability in Malaysia, which has had three prime ministers in recent years, risk delaying policy decisions needed to encourage economic recovery.

The coalition, known as Pakatan Harapan, won the most seats in Saturday's vote with 82, while the Muhyiddin National Blocks won 73. They need 112, a simple majority, to form a government.

Meanwhile, the old Barisan camp won just 30 seats, the worst election performance for a coalition that dominated politics since independence in 1957.

Barisan Nasional mengatakan pada Hari Kamis, mereka tidak akan mendukung pemerintahan yang dipimpin oleh Muhyiddin, meski tidak merujuk pada Anwar.

The decision on the prime minister fell to Malaysia's King or Yang-Pertuan Agong, after Anwar and Muhyiddin missed Tuesday afternoon's deadline to form a ruling alliance.

The king constitutionally plays a ceremonial role, but can appoint a prime minister who he believes will lead the majority in parliament.

Malaysia has a unique constitutional monarchy, in which the king was elected in turn from the family of the nine states, to rule for five years.